Peace?
Second Taiwanese visit to China
James Soong says he will not act as an envoy for President ChenA second Taiwanese opposition leader is due in China on Thursday, days after Lien Chan, the head of the Nationalist Party, returned from a similar visit.
James Soong, from the PFP (People First Party), said he aimed to promote understanding between China and Taiwan.
But he added that he would not act as a messenger for President Chen Shui-bian.
Both the Nationalists and the PFP favour Taiwan's eventual reunification with China, but Mr Chen remains reluctant to bow to Beijing's wishes.
Beijing refuses to negotiate with Mr Chen until he signs up to the one-China policy, which acknowledges that Taiwan is part of China.
'Bridge over troubled water'
James Soong's nine-day trip will take him to the cities of Xian, Nanjing and Shanghai, before a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Mr Soong has described his trip to the mainland as an attempt to "promote understanding and push for reconciliation... to help remove unnecessary hurdles and misunderstandings".
"We hope to build a bridge over troubled water," he told reporters on Wednesday.
Mr Lien's visit yielded the offer of two giant pandas
Despite their sharply differing views, Mr Soong signed a 10-point agreement on cross-strait ties with President Chen in February, which Mr Soong says will form the basis of his talks with Beijing.
In that agreement, Mr Chen pledged to maintain the status quo in Taiwan, and not push for the island's formal independence.
Mr Chen recently announced that he had asked Mr Soong to relay a message during his visit to China, leading some analysts to view Mr Soong's trip as that of an unofficial emissary for the Taiwanese president.
But Mr Soong has denied carrying such a message, saying: "I'm not an envoy."
But he added: "I am willing to represent Taiwan people to bring a message of peace."
Warm welcome
Mr Soong himself used to be a key member of the main opposition in Taiwan, the Nationalist (Kuomintang) Party, before founding his own party in 2000.
The PFP and Nationalists are currently in an alliance, forming a majority opposition.
On Tuesday, Lien Chan, the head of Nationalists, arrived back in Taipei after his own eight-day trip to Beijing.
Mr Lien became the first Nationalist party leader to hold talks with China's Communist Party chief since the Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war.
The Chinese greeted Mr Lien warmly, and in a goodwill gesture to mark his trip, Beijing even offered the island two giant pandas, which are considered China's ultimate diplomatic gesture.
The visits of Taiwan's two opposition leaders to China are provoking mixed reactions at home.
Some see the visits as a chance to win Beijing's trust.
But others accuse China of trying to split public opinion, because its treatment of the two opposition heads contrasts with that of Mr Chen.